A. Gunshot fatalities and care of gunshot victims in California cost seven hundred three million dollars in direct medical costs in 1993 alone.

B. As of 1994 there were more than twice as many gun dealers as public schools in California.

C. More Californians now die from guns than from automobile accidents.

D. In Berkeley in the years 1993 to 1995 guns were used to commit fourteen homicides, nine hundred seven robberies and one hundred five aggravated assaults.

E. Crime, gangs and gun violence occur across city and county boundaries with each crime often involving perpetrators living in, and acts committed in, several different jurisdictions. As a result, the Police Chiefs Association in both Alameda and Contra Costa Counties have urged that regional approaches be developed to respond to such crime.

F. The City of Berkeley is a participant in one such regional effort entitled the "East Bay Public Safety Corridor Partnership," comprised of the cities and counties adjacent to I-80. Numerous public officials representing cities and counties in the Partnership and other neighboring cities in the Bay Area recognize that an important tool to combat crime and gun violence is to jointly enact appropriate legislation.

G. One type of appropriate legislation to discourage the sale of guns is to tax sellers of guns and ammunition. (Ord. 6469-NS § 1, 1998)